Tale of the Tape
by Bryn Gwyrdd
Summary: After their "Mission of Gold", many people besides Amanda are affected by their reactions to her near death. Note: I have rated this story as "M", not for my usual reasons, but because of a certain humorous storyline that may *possibly* offend.
1. Other Eyes

She was so thoroughly involved searching for the file in the vault that it took her a moment to realize that someone else had entered the Q Bureau. She paused for a moment, certain she'd locked the door after she came in, as she always did when she was alone in here. She stepped quietly out from behind the filing cabinet and peered out to see who it was, and caught her breath. Unaware he was under observation, Lee stood in the middle of the room, lost in thought, looking exhausted and somewhat confused. He'd obviously been up all night, probably flying in on the red-eye – his five o'clock shadow was pronounced, his clothes were rumpled and he was rubbing his hand back and forth across his head in a robot-like trance.

For the first time, she noticed the streaks of grey in his hair, and wondered if those had been there before the accident, or if she had just become so used to him that she hadn't noticed the signs of the eternal playboy getting older. She could certainly see them now – California had aged him so much on the outside, she felt a pang wondering what it had done to him inside. She realized she'd been standing there too long and stepped out of the vault saying quietly, "Lee?"

He jumped, startled not to find himself alone and turned towards her, unable to drop the mask into place before she'd glimpsed the raw emotion on his face. Without stopping to think about where they were or who might see them, she gave into her instinctive response and walked across the room to hug him. After the briefest hesitation, he brought his arms up around her and hugged her back, head resting on hers. When she felt him begin to relax, she squeezed him a bit more and quipped, "You know, this is usually where I walk in on you and Amanda."

She heard his sharp intake of breath and for a split second, she regretted making a joke but then his arms tightened around her and to her relief, she heard the rumble of laughter deep in his chest. She had just started to join in when a voice from the doorway said "Lee! I heard you were back, I – oh, I'm sorry."

Francine and Lee sprang apart and stared at Billy standing in the doorway. He looked so embarrassed at interrupting them that for a second they could say nothing and then both of them began to laugh. Billy looked back and forth between the two of them, not completely understanding what they were finding so funny.

When Lee finally calmed down enough to catch his breath, and run his sleeve across his face to mop his eyes, he walked forward to take Billy's outstretched hand. "Sorry, Billy, I couldn't sleep on the plane and I guess I'm still a little on edge."

"How's Amanda?" Francine asked the question they both really wanted the answer to as she stepped over to perch on the edge of Amanda's desk. It had been two weeks since that awful Monday afternoon when Billy had taken that call as she sat in his office going over mundane details of assignments and budgets.

 _She had watched Billy's face light up with a beaming smile at hearing Lee's voice before he had slumped forward on his desk, an expression of horror dawning on his face. He'd looked up at her across the desk and whispered the incomprehensible words "Amanda's been shot" before reaching over to the phone to press the speaker button and ask Lee to tell them what had happened. For those first few minutes, she and Billy had managed to hold it together, going instantly into work mode and responding to the situation but then the phone call had ended and they'd found themselves staring at each other, helplessly._

" _I thought he was calling to tell me he'd proposed," said Billy finally._

 _Francine had felt some surprise at that. "Really? They haven't been involved all that long, have they?"_

" _It's been longer than you think. If I had to guess, I'm pretty certain they've been together since last spring, but of course, they were close for much longer before that."_

" _Last spring? Really? Wasn't he dating some French girl last summer?" Billy looked at her, eyebrows raised for a beat and she realized none of them had never really heard any details on that particular romance. "Amanda was the French girl?"_

" _I'd bet my pension on it. It's been months since I've found one without the other no matter when or where I'm looking."_

" _Wow, I just assumed it was that whole Stemwinder fiasco that finally got them together. I mean, I knew for certain they were involved after Birol took her – that was obvious when we were in the Caribbean - but I didn't really believe he'd settled down and changed his ways until that business with the Russians last month." She looked over at Billy in confusion. "So why is he still pretending they weren't out there together to start with? He doesn't really think we'd believe her mother called him and not the other way around, does he?"_

 _Billy sighed deeply. "I don't know. Her family has only just met him in the last few months – maybe they're just so used to keeping it secret that it's habit by now. I've all but told them outright I know they're together and that I'll back them but for some reason they're still keeping it quiet._ _"_ _He grimaced slightly. "I wonder what he told her mother when he called her. Dotty West is a terror when she's upset about something."_

" _Isn't there anything we can do from here? He can't be thinking clearly."_

" _No, he's probably right about La Palmas being too small for an influx of agents to go unnoticed. We'll let him liaise with the local law enforcement and wait for him to call us in. It'll be good for him to have something to keep him busy –it will keep him from driving the hospital staff crazy."_

 _Francine gave him a wry smile. "Lee as a patient as a nightmare – I can't even imagine what he'll be like when it's Amanda in the hospital instead."_

 _Billy had sighed again. "I'll get NEST to contact the hospital and get them to keep us up-to-speed on her condition. I can't believe three days ago all they wanted to do was finish that case and get out of town. She just has to be alright – I don't think Lee could recover if he lost her too."_

" _She'll be fine" Francine had repeated firmly what she'd told Lee. "Those two never seem to catch a break, but everything they go through just seems to bring them closer. She won't go anywhere without a fight." She'd stood up and headed out of his office. "I'm going to go pull the police reports and see what's in those that Lee couldn't tell us." Billy had picked up the phone as she'd gotten up and begun to dial. As she left the office, she heard him speaking softly, in a voice he reserved for only one person._

" _Jeanie darling, I've had some bad news…"_

All this flashed through her memory in the seconds before Lee began to speak. He'd crossed the Q Bureau and flopped down on the couch, too tired to remain upright any longer.

"She's better, but it's going to be a while before she's back to her old self. I – we – almost lost her twice," he paused and swallowed hard, "but she's a fighter. She wasn't going to leave her family for anything." He stared at the ground for a moment before looking up to continue. "She's out of ICU, and they figure she'll be able to travel home in a few weeks. Her mother is with her for now – Barney insisted Dotty come and stay with him and Gus, so she's getting a bit of support but if you could keep me on desk duty for a while, I'd like to try and fly back out next weekend."

"Lee Stetson asking for desk duty – who would have thought that would ever happen? Once upon a time that would have been like caging the Tasmanian Devil." Lee turned to look at Francine defensively before realizing that her smile was genuinely sympathetic and that she expected him to see the humour in the situation. Suddenly he did see it, and an embarrassed grin spread across his face, to the relief of the two friends watching him.

"I'd have asked for more time off but Amanda and Dotty kicked me out. Apparently the hospital staff asked for a vacation from me."

That was all it took to send Francine and Billy off into gales of laughter, joined by Lee. It was Billy that recovered first, saying "You're welcome to all the desk duty you want. It would probably be dangerous to send you out on anything anyway in your current state. Have you even been home?"

"No, I just came here from the airport. Figured I'd check in with you and then head home for a change of clothes and a shower."

"Well, the only thing on your desk is signing off on the Nick Grant case. You two disappeared so fast on your trip that you forgot to do that." Billy's lips twitched at the guilty expression that flitted across Lee's face. "But Francine completed all of it except for your statement, so once you're done that, you can spend the week helping her if she's willing to put up with you."

Francine rubbed her hands together with mock glee. "A whole week of bossing Lee around? It'll be a pleasure."

"Thanks Billy," Lee was too tired and too relieved to know he wasn't going straight back into field duty to rise to the bait either of them had offered up.

Francine pushed herself off the desk. "You look like you're going to be useless most of today though. Tell you what, you finish up your part of the Nick Grant stuff, I'll take you for lunch so you can tell me all about Amanda and then drive you home so you can sleep until tomorrow. Sound good?"

"Sounds great," Lee smiled tiredly at her.


	2. Smoke if you've got 'em

Lee re-read his statement on the Grant case one last time before scrawling his signature across the bottom and pushing it away across the desk. It was amazing he'd even been able to dredge up any memories of what had happened that day at the McMaster estate, when it was everything that happened after it that completely filled his mind. Fortunately Amanda had made copious notes on everything before they'd left to meet the art fence that day, and Francine had left him with the rest of the file so he could fill in the gaps.

He glanced at the stack of notes with Amanda's neat handwriting on them and felt the pang of missing her. It had only been 14 hours since he'd kissed her goodbye at the hospital on his way to the airport and already he was regretting the decision to come home. They'd agreed he should since no one at home knew he had any reason to stay but as soon as he'd talked to Billy and Francine, he'd realized neither of them were fooled anyway. He sighed again wishing he could tell them the whole truth but he and Amanda agreed it was something they should do together when the time came. He was just checking his watch, wondering if it was late enough in California to call her when Francine walked back into the Q Bureau.

"Are you done?" she asked brightly. "Ready for lunch?"

"Yes and yes," he replied, standing up and stretching. An overnight flight and a morning in an office chair had left him feeling stiff and achy. "Where do you want to go?"

"There's a great old-style diner that's just opened up over near the university, but you have to promise not to tell anyone here that you saw me eating a hamburger."

"It's a deal."

The diner, hidden on a side street a few blocks away from the Georgetown campus, looked like something out of Lee's childhood, right down to the black and white tile floor and the red banquette booths. Even the music playing on the jukebox reminded him of high school. "I'm pretty sure I fell in love for the first time to this song," he laughed as 'Hey, Hey Paula' came out of the speaker at their table.

"In love, hey? How old were you? Did it last?"

"Thirteen and nope, it was 'my party and I'll cry if I want to' before the end of the school year. How about you? What's your song?"

Francine thought for a moment. "I frightened off my sixth grade boyfriend by buying him a forty-five of 'Chapel of Love'.

"Nice one – that's a classic" grinned Lee.

"When I spent the week in my room crying over it, my father decided it was time I start going to an all-girls school," added Francine dryly. "That put a cramp in my style for a few years. I had to make do with magazine articles about the Beatles instead of real boys."

"Well, you got the last laugh," said Lee. "And like I've said before, you still got it." He toasted her with his glass of water as they both laughed, remembering the last time he'd said that to her.

"I may still have it, but I'm starting to forget what to do with it," she responded.

"It'll all come back to you when you meet the right person. That makes all the difference," said Lee unthinkingly as he studied the menu.

"It does, does it?" Francine looked at him, watching the flush rise on his neck as he realized he'd given himself away again but quickly looked back down at her menu as he looked up. "I've changed my mind. The chili-cheese fries sound too good," she said finally, letting him off the hook.

"Compared to the hospital cafeteria and the airplane food, this all looks good to me. Thank God for Barney – he set himself up as a one-man catering unit, keeping me and Dotty fed. Amanda starting making us leave the room to eat because she was still on bland food and clear liquids and it was making her crazy seeing what he was bringing in." He caught the waitress' eye and waved her down.

"She sounds like she's feeling a lot better if she's got the strength to kick you all the way out of California," remarked Francine once the waitress left. "How much longer did you say she'll be in hospital?"

"They said two weeks in hospital and three weeks until she can come home, but it wouldn't surprise me if she stages a jail break before that. She's better behaved than me but she hates hospitals even more than I do. All the noise drives her crazy." He laughed as 'Hello Mary Lou' started to play on the juke box. "Ricky Nelson was Amanda's girlhood crush."

"How do you even know that?"

Lee shrugged. "A lot of time sitting on stakeouts talking about nothing and listening to the radio, I guess. But I think it came up at the high school reunion last year."

"You went to her high school reunion?" Francine asked in an amazed tone.

Lee looked back at her, equally astonished. "You told me to go – don't you remember?"

"What are you talking about?"

Lee leaned back against the banquette. "It was after you got shot at the Cumberland that night. I came to check on you at the hospital and to let you know Amanda was alright. You really don't remember?"

Francine shook her head. "Not a thing, but I was pretty high on morphine at the time. What did I say?"

"You told me all about how you'd had this whole conversation about the reunion and how you'd sent her to that store with the sixties stuff because she told you she wasn't going to it and you thought she'd regret not going and then you told me I should go with her so I talked her into it."

"I have zero memory of that," admitted Francine. "So was I right? Did she have a good time?"

"No, turns out it was a terrible idea." Lee started to laugh again. "She spent the whole evening trying to avoid questions about what she was doing these days in a roomful of people whose only topic of conversation was what people were doing now. It was like every conversation with her mother about what ridiculous film we're working on now but repeated over and over and over again. And since it was February, the whole thing was Valentine's themed so if it wasn't avoiding questions about that, it was trying to explain what on earth I was doing there. She was a basket case by an hour in with all the lying. And then -"Lee stopped talking abruptly, and gave a choke of laughter with a faraway look in his eyes as he remembered the rest of that evening.

"And then – what?" prompted Francine.

"And then after we'd made nice for a while, we went out for a bite to eat and I took her home in time for midnight curfew," answered Lee, promptly.

Francine looked at him through narrowed eyes. She could tell there was something more to the story but she knew from the suddenly bland expression on Lee's face that he wasn't about to divulge anything else. Just at that moment the food arrived and Lee took the opportunity to change the subject, asking her about what had been going on in Washington while he'd been away. For a moment she debated pressing him for more, but decided it would keep for another time and began to tell him all the bullpen gossip.

As she talked, Lee's mind drifted back to that reunion night.

 _They had just escaped yet another conversation with what had to be the hundredth woman who'd been a cheerleader with Amanda by heading to the dance floor. At first, it had been normal, dancing in a high school gym to songs they both remembered from their teenage years like the Beach Boys, but then the music had slowed down and as 'Let it Be' began to play, they had drifted into each other's arms. It had taken a moment for him to realize that she was shaking. Not trembling but actually shaking. He had stepped back to look at her, shocked to see tears on her cheeks._

" _Amanda, what's wrong?" He was still holding her upper arms, bending down to try and look at her as she stared at the floor._

" _I need to get out of here." That was all she said before turning away from him and bolting for the door. He'd been too surprised to follow her for a moment but had finally chased after her, aware as he did so that heads were turning all over the room. He'd caught up with her as she reached the hallway and spun her around._

" _Amanda, talk to me! What's wrong?"_

 _She'd leaned back against the row of lockers, still shaking. "I'm sorry, it was just that song on top of everything else this week."_

" _You're having an anxiety attack over 'Let it Be'? Why?"_

" _Lee, do you remember where you were in May 1970?"_

 _He'd thought for a moment and finally answered, "I would have been in the middle of final exams, I guess. Why?"_

" _I was in the middle of exams too, and that song was playing on the radio all the time that week. I can remember it so clearly; I was in the Student Union building and people started rushing in, all yelling about Kent State and everyone was running around trying to find radios to get the news but nobody really knew anything except that there were students had been killed and they didn't know how many or who it was and the rumours kept getting crazier and crazier and all I could think about was that Jamie was there."_

 _Lee stared at her in confusion. "What do you mean Jamie was there?"_

" _Not my Jamie, my cousin Jamie – my Jamie's named after him. He was at Kent that year and it was hours before we found out he was safe. But all I can remember from that day was that in between news bulletins, the radio just kept playing that song over and over. He died in a car crash a year later while he was working with the Peace Corps and I haven't thought about it in so long but I guess with this week and those people killing Lance and trying to kill me and telling themselves they were protecting our way of life, well, when that song came on and I remembered how I felt then – it just all hit me at once and all of a sudden I couldn't breathe." Her eyes had filled up with tears again and she'd put her hands over her face as if trying to block out the memories._

 _He'd taken her back into his arms and stood there for a moment, rubbing a hand across her back, trying to soothe her. "Hey, hey, it's fine. It's a perfectly normal reaction. It's been a weird week – maybe coming here wasn't such a good idea after all." She was leaning into him, sniffling quietly._

" _I thought it would be good to see some old friends and try and be normal for a while but being here just reminds me how not normal my life is now."_

" _Wait a minute – don't go getting not normal on me now. You were just starting to bring me around to the idea." He was relieved when she started to laugh at that. He'd let go of her and began searching his pockets for a handkerchief for her but when he'd reached into the pocket of the fringed jacket he'd picked up at Sixties R Us, he found himself pulling out a small plastic bag that he certainly hadn't put in there. He stared at it for a moment, trying to figure out what it was before it hit him._

" _Lee? What on earth are you doing with those?" Amanda was staring with amazement at the baggie and the two perfectly rolled joints it contained._

" _I have no idea," he'd replied honestly before groaning, "Oh no! This is what he meant!"_

" _This is what who meant? What did he mean?"_

" _That hippie clerk at the sixties clothes store. When I went back to get something to wear for this, he kept going on and on about how grateful he was that I'd rescued him and his customers from Jepard and how he wanted to give me something to thank me and when I bought the jacket, he must have slipped these in the pocket. How the hell am I going to get rid of them?" He looked up to see Amanda grinning at him, with the same look of mischief she'd had the day she's blackmailed him with the Christmas party photo. "What are you smiling at?"_

" _Well, it seems a shame to waste them, and I could use something to calm me down right about now."_

" _Amanda!" He'd been stunned at the suggestion, especially from her. "You can't be serious! I'm a federal agent! And you're practically one! We're supposed to be stopping people from selling this stuff, not using it!"_

" _Oh give me a break, Lee. You grew up in the sixties – you can't tell me you never indulged."_

" _Well, of course I did, but that was then, this is now. And the now problem is what the hell I'm going to do with them."_

 _Amanda was outright giggling now. "Well, it's obvious isn't it? We destroy the evidence before anyone catches you with them. I suggest arson."_

" _Arson?" He started to laugh as he understood what she was suggesting. "Who are you and what have you done with Amanda King?"_

" _Come on, I bet all the old stoners are out under the bleachers like the old days – we can borrow a lighter."_

 _She'd grabbed the bag out of his hand and headed for the exit determinedly and somehow he'd found himself following her out into the freezing February night. She'd been right about the old time stoners – there had been a group of four or five aging hippies, who looked exactly like the clerk at the store, and who all greeted Amanda by name._

" _You were a stoner in high school?" he'd whispered at her in amazement._

" _No, but I was class president so everybody remembers me. I was a good girl until I went away to college and Joe corrupted me."_

" _Joe corrupted you? Mr. Straight Arrow law student taught you how to smoke up?" Lee was overwhelmed by all the information that was coming at him tonight._

" _The law students were the worst because they were so stressed all the time. Why do you think the boarding house was called Mrs. McDragon's?" Amanda had asked impishly. By now, she'd clambered up the bleachers and was perched staring out over the field. As he watched, she'd expertly taken a long drag on the joint she'd lit and then held it out to him. "So? You joining me or not?"_

 _There was something so irresistible about the way she'd smiled at that moment that he'd almost taken her up on the dare, but he'd stopped himself, straddling the bench beside her instead and shaking his head. "Nope. You go ahead, I'll just sit here and keep an eye out for Officer Krupke."_

" _Chicken?" she'd teased him._

" _No, but I'm going to have to drive you home later and I shouldn't be buzzed for that."_

" _Yeah, that's true. One of these days though, we're both going to be buzzed at the same time and then watch out."_

" _Watch out for what?"_

 _Amanda was already starting to giggle as the effects of her first few drags hit. "Fireworks, Scarecrow. Boom! Just like New Year's Eve!"_

" _I'll look forward to that." He'd reached over and carefully removed the bag with the second joint in it from her hand, slipping it into his back pocket. He'd flush it down the toilet later, a solution he should have thought of before Amanda has somehow hijacked the situation. He noticed she had goose pimples on her arms from coming outside without a coat so he slipped out of his and draped it over her shoulders, then leaned back again to watch her, like he'd done at the Cumberland a few nights before. He wondered what she'd meant by the comment about fireworks – they'd fallen into a pattern of flirting while they worked, but he still wasn't sure how much she meant by it. She had always been the first one to tease him about his overactive love life but he wondered if she'd noticed how much that had changed since they'd first met. There had never been a woman who affected him the way she did, wanting to strangle her one minute and kiss her senseless the next, but he just couldn't figure out how to break down that last barrier between them without losing the best friend he had in the world. He needed another Amanda who could give him advice on what to do with this one._

' _What a thought,' he said to himself, smiling at the thought. 'Can you imagine there being two of them?'_

 _He couldn't help grinning watching her staring up at the stars with a contented expression, taking slow drags occasionally and giggling quietly at nothing. He knew he should have put a stop to this right at the start, but he didn't seem to be able to think straight around her sometimes, and he had to admit, stoned Amanda was a damn sight more comfortable to be around than crying Amanda. The more he thought about that, the more he'd realized how many different Amandas there were. When he'd first met her it had been easy for him to dismiss her easily as just a housewife and mom, but it had taken him years to fully appreciate the humour, the intuition, the razor-sharp mind and the courage she hid under that sweet exterior. The courage especially – the way she'd faced down so many situations and so rarely let him see the emotional upheaval that had followed. He knew cases got to her; he'd been there when some of them had gotten overwhelming for her but somehow she'd always managed to let it all out and then pick herself back up and come back for more, sunny optimism unimpaired. And now there was Crazy College Amanda – he'd never seen that one coming._

 _When he saw the glow of the lit joint was getting too close to her fingers pinched around the end, he'd reached over again and carefully taken it away from her, dropping it and methodically destroying it under his shoe. He'd looked back at Amanda who was now staring at him, eyes even darker than normal with her dilated pupils. "Feel better now?" he'd asked. He'd taken her arm and started to guide her back down the metal steps._

" _Much better. We should do this more often." She'd beamed at him happily._

 _Lee grimaced at the thought. "Let's go back inside where it's warm okay? We can grab your stuff and get out of here." He'd pointed her in the direction of the school and given her a little push to set her in motion._

" _Okay." She'd started back towards the gym obediently, reaching back to take his hand like she had the other night in the elevator._

 _They'd gone back inside and he'd started to guide her towards their table to find her purse. The DJ had shifted to playing more recent songs and they were halfway across the gym when he put on a slow song Lee remembered playing on the car radio just after Joe King had come back from Estoccia. It reminded him painfully of that week when he had worried that with Amanda might go back to her ex-husband, just as he'd begun to realize his own feelings for her. "One last dance before we go?" he'd asked abruptly, wanting to exorcise his own musical demons._

" _That's be nice." Amanda had stepped into his embrace without hesitation, completely relaxed this time. They had swayed gently around the floor and he realized that Amanda was crooning along with the song._

 _'What did you think I would say at this moment, when I'm faced with the knowledge that you just don't love me…'_

 _He had tightened his arms around her, suddenly reckless with the desire to tell her he was, in fact, falling in love with her. "Amanda…" he began to say._

 _She looked up at him and before he could say anything else, blurted out "I'm hungry."_

 _Lee couldn't help laughing at her impeccable timing. "I should have known that was coming," he sighed. "You're a lightweight, Amanda King."_

" _You should know. You've carried me."_

" _Yes I have, but that's not what I meant. Okay, let's go get your purse and coat and then I'll take you out to eat. What do you want?"_

" _A double Wham-O burger with double cheese, pickles and mustard, jumbo onion rings and a Choco-Blocko shake" said Amanda promptly._

" _Marvin's? Seriously? You almost were a double Wham-O burger once, don't you remember?"_

" _Oh yeah," she'd shivered at the memory. For a moment, he'd felt terrible for saying that when she looked sad but then she'd started to grin idiotically again. "Okay. Just the onion rings and the Choco-Blocko shake then."_

" _You're a goofball, you know that?"_

" _Don't call your brother a goofball," she'd scolded him in the same tone she used on the boys, making him laugh out loud._

" _Yes_ _,_ _Mom. Now come on, your chariot to the drive-thru awaits."_

 _._

"Did I tell you somebody left me a mix tape on my desk for Valentine's Day?"

Lee's attention snapped back to Francine as he realized she'd asked him a question. "They left you a what?"

"A mix tape – didn't you ever make one for a girl or were you too much of a love-'em-and-leave-'em guy even then?"

"I wasn't actually but I didn't usually live anywhere long enough to properly date anyone. But yes, I believe I may have made a few sappy mix tapes in my long-lost youth. Who was yours from?"

"Efraim, of course, although he hasn't admitted it. I'm impressed though – it must have required a long period of being sober enough to put it together and he usually only remembers his undying love for me when he's been drinking. It's a good tape though; I've been listening to it on my Walkman at my desk when I want to zone out all the noise in the bullpen." She looked up at Lee and noticed the dark shadows that were becoming more noticeable under his eyes. "You done? You look like you're about to fall asleep." He nodded and she signaled for the bill.

.

They drove back to Lee's apartment in the companionable silence of old friends, but after Francine had pulled up in front of his building and he'd unloaded his bags, he leaned back in the car window. "Thanks for everything. Not just for lunch and the ride home, but for everything else."

"No problem. Like the song on my mix tape says, that's what friends are for. Go get some sleep and we'll see you tomorrow, ok? And I hate to tell you this but Billy needs you to write up something for the files on how you got involved with that whole gold scam."

He groaned in acknowledgement and started to turn away but turned back when Francine called his name again. "And Lee? Say hi from me when you call Amanda five minutes after you get in the door."

He didn't even try to deny that was his plan. "Sure will"

It was longer than five minutes though as he decided to shower and crawl into bed before picking up the phone. "Hey, Beautiful," he said when she picked up the phone.

There was a beat and then to his embarrassment he heard Dotty reply dryly, "Thank you Lee, but I'm sure you meant that for Amanda."

"Not at all, Mrs. West," he'd scrambled to answer. "But is she there? It's not time for her therapy session yet, is it?"

"Now, Lee, you know it's not – you know her schedule even better than the nurses around here. And she's giving me a dirty look for not giving her the phone, so I'll talk to you later. Goodbye, Lee, Dear."

He could hear Amanda still chuckling as she came on the line. "I don't know what you said, but you made her day."

"Nothing that isn't true. How are you?"

"Tired. Hospitals are so darn noisy. I'm looking forward to getting home to the peace and quiet of the boys fighting. How's Washington?"

"Cold. Lonely. Actually I shouldn't say that – Francine just took me out for lunch to make sure I ate something. She says hi. Billy's going to try and keep me out of the field all week so I'll be free to come back next weekend."

"You don't need to, you know."

"Yes I do."

"Yeah you do. So are you in the office now?"

"Nope, Billy threw me out of there too, so I'm at home in bed. Wish you were here."

"Me too." They sighed down the phone line simultaneously. He could heard Dotty asking Amanda something in the background and her answering before she came back. "Mother says if you're coming back soon, could you go by the house and pick up more clothes for her? She's gone off to call Joe and ask him to have a suitcase ready."

"Of course, no problem. Let me know if there's anything you want either." He paused uncertainly. "Amanda, do you think I should tell Joe? About us being married, I mean? After everything that happened… shouldn't he know I'm his sons' step-father?"

"Oh no, don't do that. I'll talk to him when I'm home again. You're right but it should come from me." She groaned as the sound of another PA announcement drifted into her room. "Maybe you could bring me earplugs when you come back so I can get some quiet. Oh, and here's Denise to change my dressings now. You can add shrieks of pain to the list of hospital noises I'm not going to miss." She chuckled so he'd know she wasn't serious.

"I'll call you later then. I love you."

He'd dozed off almost instantly after she'd hung up, but woke up to that half-light which could be either dusk or dawn. The clock said six o'clock which didn't narrow it down so finally he'd gotten up and padded to the window to stare at the light in the sky before deciding it was dusk and he'd only been asleep a few hours. He was strangely energized though and he knew there was something chasing around his brain – something Francine had said. When he finally realized what it was, he gave a crow of triumph and grabbed a pad of paper to start writing.

.

Wednesday morning, Amanda woke up to find her mother already sitting in her room. "Hi Momma" she mumbled sleepily. "Is it even visiting hours yet?"

Dotty smiled at the way Amanda had just reverted back to her childhood name for her. She wondered briefly when her daughter had stopped using it and started calling her Mother instead. It must have been a teen rebellion that stuck she decided, not that it mattered now. She was just glad she still had her daughter here to call her anything.

"No, I'm early, but the nurses looked the other way when I said I had something for you from Lee."

Amanda smiled, "More flowers?"

"Not this time." She gestured to the package on the table by the bed. "It came by courier last night."

"He sent something by courier? What couldn't wait until the weekend?" Amanda tried to sit up and caught her breath sharply, remembering too late that she should have used the button to raise the bed, while Dotty rushed forward to help her, scolding as she put her arm around her and helped her adjust the bed and pillows to be comfortable.

"Well, we won't know until you open it, will we?" Dotty picked up the parcel and put it on Amanda's lap, watching as Amanda carefully pulled the brown paper off and lifted the lid on the box inside.

"Well, everything on top is for you, Mother." Amanda pulled out a stack of paperbacks, all mystery and romance novels by Dotty's favourite writers and even a hardback of the latest Danielle Steele with a note attached from Lee hoping the books would keep her and Amanda amused without him there to tease.

Dotty had known Lee Stetson was an eleven, but even so, she felt the tears welling up at the thoughtfulness of his book selection. "Lee's a keeper, Amanda. I hope you know that."

"Oh I do, Mother." Amanda was reaching into the box again and pulled out an envelope. Slipping the note out of it, she glanced through it to make sure it was safe before reading an edited version out loud to her mother. "I heard a song that reminded me of high school and thought maybe this would be more useful than earplugs for getting rid of the hospital noise. Here's to our next reunion." She reached in again and pulled out two cassette tapes and a brand new Walkman. The first cassette was marked "Family Soundtrack" and the second "High School Reunion". She flipped open the cases to see if he'd written song lists inside but they were both blank.

"He's a genius. Why didn't I think of this before?" said Amanda in a wondering tone. "He even put in spare batteries."

"Definitely an eleven," confirmed Dotty. She could see Amanda was itching to play the tapes so she picked up one of the books and headed back to the chair across the room. She settled herself in and pretended to be reading while she watched her daughter slip on the headphones and put in one of the tapes, settling back on the pillows with her eyes closed. Dotty glanced back down to start her novel but was almost immediately distracted by the shriek of laughter coming from the bed. She raised her eyebrows inquiringly, but Amanda just waved her off with a grin.

"Just a private joke, Mother, go back to your book."

Amanda watched her mother shrug her shoulders and look back down at her book before resettling herself and closing her eyes again as the Walkman played the first song, blocking out all the hospital noises. After all, she could come up with something later to explain to her mother why the first song on the "Reunion" tape was 'Puff the Magic Dragon", couldn't she?


	3. Mother Knows Best

Much later that afternoon, Amanda had drifted off into a deep sleep. The painkillers were definitely doing their job in that department, Dotty decided approvingly. She stared at her daughter's face, relieved to see how much colour she'd regained since those first few horrible days after the accident. She shuddered to think how close they'd come to losing her that day– if Lee hadn't been there holding her, she wasn't sure she could have stayed upright. Amanda's strength amazed her – she seemed to treat being shot as a sort of everyday occurrence and Lee was no different. Once Amanda had turned the corner and started to recover, he'd been a pillar of strength, asking all the right questions, sometimes questions she would never have thought of, and he had an almost instinctive understanding of what Amanda needed in her condition as if he'd experienced it himself.

She couldn't help smiling as she thought about her daughter's boyfriend. Amanda always teased her about being like a CIA-level interrogator but she had nothing on Lee Stetson. She didn't know why it was so easy to talk to him, but during all those hours at Amanda's bedside, she'd found herself telling him all sorts of stories of Amanda's childhood, about Carl, about the boys, all manner of ridiculous stories and he'd always found the right question to lead to another. As Amanda had begun to recover and they'd all relaxed more, she'd tried to turn the tables, trying to get him to talk about himself, but he was charmingly evasive. He'd talked easily about his childhood, losing his parents and moving constantly with his uncle. He'd told funny stories about Barney, about high school hijinks, a very little bit about his time in Vietnam but whenever it got too close to the present day, he'd just waved it off as dull office stuff. "Hours standing around trying to get a good shot of a buffalo and then hours in the editing room trying to make it seem interesting," was how he'd described it. Well, she could see what her daughter found interesting about all those hours in the editing room; the look in their eyes when she and Lee looked at each other suggested he'd let her in more than he was willing to let Dotty in just yet.

She wondered idly if he'd made a film about hospitals because he seemed to understand how they worked much better than most people. Of course, once they knew that Amanda was going to recover, that had worked against him when he was pestering the staff all the time, impatient and frustrated in the way only a man used to acting on problems was. It had almost been easier for him when the accident had just happened and he had had to keep going down to the police station to give statements and whatnot. She'd had no idea how time consuming it was to be a victim of a crime; Lee had almost spent more time with the police than he had at the hospital those first few days, but at least he'd had something to do instead of just pacing the hallways like she had.

She smiled to herself, remembering how her husband had been exactly the same – faced with a problem, he'd been like a terrier until he could solve it and driven to distraction by things he couldn't fix, like Amanda's childhood ailments. She wondered if Amanda realized how much like her father Lee was or for that matter how much power she seemed to have over him. It seemed sometimes like all it took was Amanda saying his name and he'd go from caged lion to housecat in a heartbeat. It was good that he'd gone back to Washington though, she thought; he needed to escape this for a while and recharge, and when he came back for the weekend, she'd be able to go and do the same with a clear conscience. Barney and Gus had offered to show her all the sights anytime she wanted a day off from the hospital and she was just about at that point. It was a relief to know she could leave the hospital and not worry that something would happen while she was gone. No, Amanda was well on the way to recovery and now it was just going to be time and TLC.

She looked down at the book on her lap and realized she'd read the same page three times. She stood up and stretched, only then noticing the Walkman and cassettes sitting on the bedside table. Amanda had spent the morning listening to them, sometimes laughing, sometimes just with a dreamy smile on her face. At some point she had told Dotty that she should listen to the Family tape if she was missing the boys, which of course she was.

"No time like the present," she thought and picked up the headphones. Slipping the cassette in, she pulled the chair over to the window and sat down in the sunshine to listen. The first song sent her into fits of giggles. 'How does Lee know this was the boys' favourite song when they were babies?' she thought to herself as Ernie sang about his rubber ducky. As the tape continued to play, she became more and more amazed at how much attention Lee had been spending to her stories. There were songs she'd barely mentioned in passing, songs she had danced to with Carl, and songs she'd sung to Amanda as a baby like "Yellow Rose of Texas", "Tennessee Waltz" and "How Much is That Doggie in the Window?" Then it turned into a mix of modern songs that she had heard the boys sing along to a million times like "Amanda" – she could still hear the boys teasing their mother by singing along with the chorus at the top of their lungs every time it came on the radio. By the time she was further into the tape, she would swear Lee Stetson must just hang around outside the kitchen window listening in on their family.

After checking to see that Amanda was still sleeping, she flipped over the cassette and sat back to listen to the side marked 'Soundtracks'. She was not all surprised to hear it start with "Edelweiss" – anyone who knew Amanda for more than five minutes knew that was one of her favourite movies. Then a song from "Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" – she'd almost forgotten Lee and Amanda had gone to see that as well. Thinking about that made her miss Curt – she really needed to call him soon, she thought.

All the songs were familiar even the theme song from the Addams Family – that had to have been one of the ones that made Amanda laugh earlier but she couldn't imagine why - another inside joke, she supposed. She stood up to waltz around the room to "Some Enchanted Evening" by herself. Had she told Lee this song had been her wedding dance with Carl? She must have, she decided – it was the only old song so far, unless- no wait - he'd also included "As Time Goes By". She wondered if he owned all these records or if he'd had to go out and buy them. No matter how he'd done it, she was impressed with the work he'd put into this gift.

She walked over to check on Amanda, who was still dozing peacefully, so Dotty picked up the second cassette and slipped it into the Walkman. The sounds of Amanda's teen years began. She could remember every one of these songs and the sights and sounds of Amanda and Debbie Ann singing and dancing to them upstairs in Amanda's bedroom or around the kitchen. She thought she knew what had made Amanda laugh when she heard the opening notes of "Snoopy and the Red Baron". Lee certainly understood Amanda's humour as well as her taste in music When it came time to flip the cassette to the other side, she expected it to be much of the same and when it started off with the Beach Boys' "Wouldn't it be Nice?" she settled back into her chair and picked up her book again, letting the songs provide a background. Within a few songs however, she had dropped the book again and was listening to the songs more carefully. As song after song played, she began to feel guiltily as if she was listening to a love letter; Lee may have managed to avoid most of her questions about him but she wondered if he had any idea how much he revealed himself here. If she'd ever doubted he loved her daughter, well, that ship had sailed now. As the last few notes of "Chapel of Love" chimed in her ears, she noticed Amanda stirring. Rising to her feet, she turned off the tape, and quietly placed the Walkman back onto the table beside the bed.

As Amanda looked up at her sleepily, she leaned forward to stroke her to the cheek. "Feeling better, Darling? You've been asleep for almost three hours."

"I'm sorry I'm such dull company, Mother."

"Oh I kept myself entertained with everything Lee sent." She paused for a moment and then added, "You know, Darling, I think I was wrong about Lee Stetson."

Amanda's eyes widened with confusion. "Really, Mother? In what way?"

Dotty leaned forward confidentially. "He's not an eleven. He's a twelve."

.

* * *

Of course, I'm going to tell you what's on the tape. I'm not that cruel!

Side 1 - Family

Rubber Duckie – Ernie/Sesame Street

Yellow Rose of Texas

Tennessee Waltz – Patti Page

How much is that doggie in the window? – Patti Page

Thriller – Michael Jackson

Eat It – Weird Al Yankovic

Amanda- Boston

Uptown Girl – Billy Joel

Rock and Roll All Night - Kiss

We are the World – USA for Africa

Ghostbusters – Ray Parker Jr.

Summer of '69 – Bryan Adams

Side 2 – Soundtracks

Edelweiss – Sound Of Music

Something Good– Sound Of Music

Sneakin' Around – Best Little Whorehouse in Texas

Hello Dolly

Good morning Starshine - Hair

Raindrops Keep Fallin' – Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Addams Family Theme song

You've lost that loving feeling – Top Gun

Some Enchanted Evening – South Pacific

As Time Goes By - Casablanca

At this Moment – Family Ties

Side 1 – High School Reunion

Puff the Magic Dragon – Peter, Paul and Mary

Brown Eyed Girl – Van Morrison

A Little Less Conversation – Elvis Presley

Somethin' Stupid – Frank & Nancy Sinatra

Be my Baby – The Ronettes

Only you- The Platters

I second that Emotion – Smokey Robinson

Snoopy and the Red Baron– The Royal Guardsmen

You're my everything – The Temptations

Daydream Believer – The Monkees

Wake up Little Susie – The Everly Brothers

Hello Mary Lou – Ricky Nelson

Side 2

Wouldn't it be Nice - The Beach Boys

My Girl– The Temptations

I'm a Believer– The Monkees

She'd Rather be with Me – The Turtles

And then he kissed me – The Crystals

Happy Together – The Turtles

There's a Kind of Hush – Herman's Hermits

Here, There and Everywhere – The Beatles

God Only Knows- The Beach Boys

Dedicated to the One I Love – The Mamas and the Papas

Chapel of Love – The Dixie Cups


	4. The Messenger

Wednesday evening, Lee rang the doorbell at 4247 Maplewood Drive uneasily. He'd been coming to the front door for a few months and still found it slightly unnerving, but it was knowing Amanda's ex-husband was the current occupant that was making him antsy now. He knew Joe had moved over without hesitation when Dotty had called him after the accident, but this would be the first time Lee had talked to him since Christmas.

Once Amanda had been moved out of ICU, she had talked to the boys every night at their bedtime, and usually Joe as well, answering questions about the boys' routines or getting the stories the boys wouldn't tell her. He could tell the calls were equally joyful and painful to her. She was so happy to hear the boys' voices but wanted so badly to be at home with Jamie and Phillip that it usually took the efforts of both him and Dotty to bring her spirits up again after the calls ended. He wondered what Joe had been dealing with at this end or how he felt about Lee's involvement in it. He knew Amanda had given Joe only the sketchiest details of the accident and wasn't sure what reception he was about to get when the door opened and he found himself face to face with his wife's ex-husband.

"Lee! Good to see you! Come on in! Amanda said you'd be coming by." Joe had greeted him with his usual calm smile and a firm handshake then ushered him inside. It wasn't at all the welcome Lee had expected – he'd been certain he was going to be greeted with anger and accusations or frigid politeness at best.

"Uh, hi Joe. Thanks. I wasn't sure you'd be all that happy to see me, to be honest," he answered, shifting slightly from foot to foot with embarrassment.

"Hey, if you're here that tells me Amanda must really be better or you'd still be there right?" Joe had turned towards the kitchen and called out, "Honey? Lee's here!" and Lee watched as a petite blonde came up the steps from the back of the house. "Lee, this is my fiancée, Carrie; Honey, this is Lee Stetson, Amanda's boyfriend. Carrie's been helping me keep the boys fed – if it was up to me, we'd probably be living on pizza." Lee realized he could smell something delicious cooking in the kitchen.

Carrie had walked forward with a warm smile to shake his hand, then stepped back to link her arm through Joe's. "It's so nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you from Phillip – or at least, I've heard a lot about your car." She had dark eyes, a lot like Amanda's and they were twinkling up at him now with humour, relaxing him instantly.

"I just bet you have," he answered, smiling. "I'm pretty sure it's the only reason Phillip lets me date his mother."

"Well, I wish I had a secret weapon like that. I'm having to get by on my cooking and I'm fairly certain they don't like mine as much as their mother's," Carrie laughed while Joe looked at her affectionately. "Now why are we standing around in the hall? Come through and have a coffee or something. Can you stay for dinner? There's plenty."

It was a strange sensation to be invited into Amanda's kitchen by Joe and Carrie but really there was nothing about this situation that was normal. As he stopped to take off his jacket and throw it over the banister, he glanced into the living room and realized the fold-out sofa was open. Joe noticed and stopped to explain. "I thought it would be better to sleep down here," he confided. "The boys were so worried about their mother that it seemed like if I slept upstairs, it would make it look like I wasn't expecting her to come back. I'm pretty sure they've been taking turns sleeping in her room anyway."

Lee blenched at the thought of Joe sleeping upstairs and realized it hadn't occurred to him before now to wonder about the domestic arrangements. "So, has Carrie been staying here as well?" He wondered what Amanda would have to say about that.

"No, she's here every evening but our apartment is closer to her job so she goes home to sleep. For some reason, I can't seem to tempt her with the luxury of a lumpy pull-out mattress." Joe slid his arm around Carrie's waist as they entered the kitchen and kissed her cheek where the blush was rising.

"Joe! Don't make it sound like we didn't agree that was the best arrangement until the boys gets used to me."

"How are the boys?" asked Lee, reaching out to accept the mug Carrie offered him. "And where are the boys?" He looked around realizing for the first time how quiet the house was.

"Basketball tournament at the school. They'll be home any minute now. As for how they are, that's a good question," Joe sighed. "It's been better since Amanda started being able to talk to them every day but it's still been a struggle for them. Phillip seems to have bounced back in his usual rubber-ball way which will probably mean trouble later, but Jamie…" he paused and blew out his breath.

"Is Jamie," finished Lee, thoughtfully. "He's been bottling it all up, I bet? He and Amanda have always been so close, this had to have hit him hard."

"Yeah," agreed Joe. "Look, Lee, before the boys come back, I have to ask – what the hell really happened on that job anyway? Dotty didn't know when she flew out of here and it seems like the boys thought Amanda was out there on vacation. They seemed surprised you were there."

Lee looked at him, startled. "It wasn't work, Joe – we really were out just there for our ho – a holiday," he caught himself just in time. "She didn't tell the boys she was going with me because they're just getting used to me too." He glanced at Carrie, who had gone into the laundry room to move things from the washer to the dryer. "She didn't tell her mother either but it was pretty obvious that little ploy hadn't worked on her. Not much gets past Dotty." He gave a wry smile at Joe's bark of laughter at that. "Anyway, we were literally in the wrong place at the wrong time. We drove into the marina to visit my friend Barney and ended up under fire. You probably read about it in the papers – all those fake gold doubloons sure made front page news out in California."

"I guess I assumed the boys had just gotten that part wrong," admitted Joe. "But you caught the guy that did it?" He looked at Lee with one brow raised enquiringly.

"Oh yeah," agreed Lee with satisfaction. "I made him pay. And he'll even go to jail as well."

"Ah," said Joe in a tone that told Lee he'd understood. "Glad to hear it." Just at that moment, the back door had burst open and Phillip had come tearing onto the kitchen.

"Lee's car is out front! Are they back? Where's Mom?" He'd skidded to a stop in front of the adults, looking around expectantly.

"Sorry, Champ, it's just me and the 'vette this time. Your mom's still not able to come home yet." Lee reached out to squeeze his shoulder as Phillip slumped in front of him. "But she's feeling a lot better and it shouldn't be long before we get her back here where she belongs." He looked up to see Jamie trailing more slowly into the house. "Hey, Jamie, how are you?"

"Fine, I guess," Jamie answered expressionlessly. "I'd be better if Mom was here." He looked accusingly at Lee.

"Yeah, I know," answered Lee. "But she's working really hard to make that happen soon." Jamie just pushed his glasses back up his nose and made a disbelieving sound.

"So why are you here then? Since Mom's not, I mean?"

"I had to come back to Washington and your mom asked me to come by and check in with you guys, make sure you were doing okay, that kind of stuff."

"Well, you've seen us now and we're fine." Jamie stared at him stone-faced, as if daring him to call him out on his attitude.

"How about you boys go wash up? Dinner's almost ready and we've invited Lee to stay," said Carrie brightly, trying to break the mood.

"Awesome!" said Phillip, racing out of the room followed more slowly by a still silent Jamie.

"Hoo boy," Lee breathed out. "I'm in the doghouse big time, aren't I?"

"I'm afraid Jamie does tend to shoot the messenger," said Joe before wincing as he realized what he'd said. "I'm sorry, that was a really poor choice of words."

"Don't worry about it," Lee waved off his apology. "I remember what it was like when my parents died. He needs somebody to be mad at and I guess I'm it. But do you really think I should stay for dinner? Won't it just upset him more?"

"No," said Carrie firmly. "He needs to talk to you and get it out of his head that you're to blame just because you were there."

"I don't get the feeling that's going to happen any time soon, but you're probably right," agreed Lee.

"Haven't you figured out yet the wife is always right?" asked Joe, turning away and thus not noticing when Lee choked on his coffee. "I'll get Phillip to bring down that suitcase for Dotty. I got Carrie to pull it together, so she can't blame either of us if it's the wrong stuff."

"Good thinking, Batman!" grinned Lee while Carrie rolled her eyes. "I'm just glad I didn't have to do it – from what Amanda tells me, I'm pretty sure there's stuff from the Rebecca's Fantasies catalogue in her closet I don't ever want to see."

The boys arrived back to find all three adults shouting with laughter. Phillip looked relieved to find them all in such good humour but Jamie just glared at them. Lee and Joe exchanged a sympathetic look. They both knew only one thing was going to make Jamie feel better and there wasn't a damn thing either of them could do about it.

* * *

Joe and Carrie came to the door to wave Lee off after dinner, standing with their arms around each other's waist as they watched the Corvette drive off down the street.

"I had no idea documentary filmmakers could be so interesting," remarked Carrie, turning back into the house. "But I guess it's a good thing that his job's going to come in so handy with Jamie."

"What do you mean?" asked Joe, smiling as he wondered what Carrie would think if he told her what Lee and Amanda really did for a living.

"Well, all that stuff he was saying about patiently waiting for a buffalo to do something interesting. He's going to need that kind of patience if Jamie keeps up the current cold shoulder act."

"I'm sure he'll be fine once he's got Amanda back and then he'll have to suck it up because I don't think Lee's planning on going anywhere."

"He's really crazy about her, isn't he?"

"Oh yeah, he's got it bad," said Joe. "Almost as bad as I do for you."


	5. Flyboys

Dotty stood up and stretched in the warm spring Californian sunshine. The nurses had encouraged her to take Amanda outside to enjoy the weather. It had been a good idea since they were both going stir-crazy inside the hospital and Amanda's mood had not been improved by Lee going AWOL. All week he'd talked about coming back by the weekend and here it was Saturday afternoon and they'd heard nothing from him since Thursday morning. He'd told Amanda he'd seen Joe and the boys, collected the suitcase for her and then there'd been nothing except a crazy message he'd left with Barney about being in Oklahoma. She was just about ready to kill him – didn't he know Amanda didn't need this added stress? On the outside Amanda seemed calm, explaining it away as probably work related, that he'd call when he could but she could see the worried look increasing on Amanda's face with every passing hour she didn't hear from him.

"I'm going to get a cup of tea. Would you like anything?"

"If they have any sweet tea, that would be nice. It's hot out here." Amanda turned her face into the sun and closed her eyes, basking in the warmth. Somehow being out from under the fluorescent lights of the hospital room made her look even paler, her mother thought to herself.

"Nothing to eat?" asked Dotty with concern. Amanda has lost so much weight since the accident but her appetite had been decreasing in the last few days.

"No thank you, Mother. I'm not hungry."

 _Another thing to blame Lee Stetson for_ fumed Dotty to herself, stalking towards the hospital cafeteria. _I can't believe I ever thought he was an eleven._ She just couldn't understand how he could have disappeared off the face of the earth like this. She knew Amanda had done it before when she'd been on a crazy film location, but surely Lee wouldn't have let himself get sent off on a job now, would he? Not without properly calling first, surely?

She stopped dead in the hallway, struck by a horrible thought. What if something had happened to him? Amanda had mentioned that no one at work knew they were dating because of rules against it – if something had happened to him, would anyone think to contact her and tell her? Who would they tell? Lee had told her he had no family outside of his uncle, and Amanda had only met him once months ago. Would this uncle think to tell her? Or would he assume she'd know from working with him? Or would he even know she cared? Dotty realized she had no idea if Lee's uncle even knew his nephew was dating her daughter.

She collected the drinks robotically and headed back down the corridor to the exit, her mind still churning with all the worst possible scenarios for why Lee hadn't been in contact. She was so worked up by the time she reached the door to the hospital gardens, she knew she had to calm down before going back to Amanda, concerned she'd see something in her face. She walked outside and put the drinks down on a table by the door, and stood for a moment watching her daughter stare across the grounds, anxious expression back in place now that she thought her mother couldn't see her. But then as Dotty watched, Amanda had struggled to her feet, her face transformed and a heartbeat later, she was in Lee's arms. Slumping with relief, she watched them cling together, arms wrapped around each other, faces buried in each other's shoulders before pulling back to begin a long passionate kiss. Even from a distance though, Dotty could read Amanda's lips when the kiss had finally ended and she'd leaned back to swat him and say "Where have you been?"

"Where have you been indeed?" she said out loud, relieved to see Lee was alright but back to feeling annoyed that he'd worried them.

"Well, Mi Amor, I wasn't the one that ran out of town so fast, so I don't know why you're asking," said a familiar voice, just as two hands grabbed her waist and spun her around.

"Curt! What on earth are you doing here? When did you get here? How did you get here?" Dotty managed to splutter out as Curt lifted her off the ground in a tight hug.

"Lee called and suggested I come back with him. And then I suggested we fly back out, so we've been flying ever since, sky-hopping all the way out here just so I could do this." Curt began to kiss her repeatedly.

"Oh Curt darling! I've missed you so much!" Dotty leaned into his embrace for a moment before leaning back and swatting him in much the same manner Amanda had just done to Lee. "But you couldn't call? Amanda's been worried sick about Lee!"

"We've been in the air for most of the last 24 hours, Darling. Except for stopping for fuel and six-hour sleep break in Tulsa, we've just been taking turns flying and sleeping since yesterday. It's a good thing Lee still has his pilot's licence or we never could have done it so fast."

"Lee has a pilot's licence?" asked Dotty distractedly. "He never mentioned that."

"Is that really what you want to talk about right now?" asked Curt. "Wouldn't you rather come and find somewhere we can be alone? I stopped and got a room at the Hilton on my way here." He grinned at her lasciviously.

Dotty looked back to where Amanda was now curled up in Lee's lap, looking like she'd forgotten all about the rest of the world. She turned back to Curt and reached up to drop a kiss on his lips. "Oh, Calgon, take me away," she answered.

.

"And then Billy worked some magic with the paperwork so that all the stuff I did with Brockett counted as work, so I have all my vacation time back and I'm off work for another two weeks! So I got hold of Curt to tell him to come and bring your mother home and the next thing I knew, we had his plane loaded up and we've been flying since yesterday."

"That's fantastic and even better -," Amanda gave a small gasp of pain as she shifted slightly in Lee's arms.

"I'm sorry, did I hurt you?" asked Lee with concern, loosening his grip slightly.

"No, I just still forget to think before I move." Amanda snuggled closer to him "Don't you let me go."

"Never," said Lee, embracing her again gently.

"And call me next time! I was worried Billy had sent you off on something and the fact he didn't call to tell me made me think it was pretty bad. You should have called."

"I should have called. The wife is always right."

"You sound like Joe." Amanda paused and leaned back to look up at him. "Speaking of Joe, he says Jamie gave you a hard time when you went by the house."

"Not a hard time, just the silent treatment. It'll be better when you're home."

Amanda wriggled with excitement. "Oh my gosh – I haven't even told you! Although if you'd called like you should have…"

"I get it! I should have called!" Lee surrendered. "What would I have known if I'd called?"

"I'm getting released for good behaviour! They're letting me out of here on Monday if I pass all my tests and Dr. Neely says I should be safe to fly home! Doctor Kelford contacted him and said I could be released into his care, although of course Mother doesn't know that."

"You're coming home?"

"I'm coming home! But I want to go the fast way back, not with Curt."

Lee started to laugh. "I'll see if I can get the Concorde out here just for you, my Amanda."

"I still can't believe you flew all the way out here," said Amanda. "Or that you thought to bring Curt with you."

"It kind of snowballed," Lee admitted. "She needed distracting and when I called, he got all gung-ho about flying out by himself. And then all I could picture was how mad she'd be if anything happened to him making such a long trip, so I thought I should go along for the ride and once we got going, we both just wanted to get here as fast as possible."

"It wasn't fast enough," grumbled Amanda, caressing his cheek.

"No, it wasn't," agreed Lee. "From now on, I promise – only the fastest way home."

'But you weren't headed home," laughed Amanda.

"Now that's where you're wrong," said Lee seriously. "Wherever you are, that's home."

"I love you, Lee."

"I love you too, my Amanda."

* * *

 _Tuesday afternoon_

Lee bent down and carefully lifted Amanda out of the front seat of the Corvette.

"I can walk, you know."

"You can walk, but this way I get to carry you over the threshold," winked Lee.

"Well, since you put it that way," smiled Amanda. "Good thing you can park in the driveway now and not halfway down the block anymore."

Lee turned his body so that he could reach the door handle and push it open. He stepped into the house and gently set her on her feet. "There you go, Mrs. Stetson" he whispered in her ear. He looked around at the quiet house. "Are you even sure the boys are home? They might have made other plans if they didn't know you were coming."

"I thought it would be better this way, in case anything happened to delay me coming back."

"Good thinking," he answered, dropping a light kiss on her lips.

They moved apart as Joe appeared in the doorway from the kitchen, a smile lighting up his face. "You made it! Welcome home Sweetheart! You look wonderful!"

Amanda moved forward to kiss him on the cheek. "Thank you for looking after everything here, Joe. You really got thrown in the deep end this time." She took a deep breath and looked around. "Are Phillip and Jamie home yet?"

"Of course, do you want me to call them?"

"Oh no, let me." Amanda walked to the bottom of the stairs and raised her voice. "Hey Fellas! Can a mom get a hug around here?"

There was a short pause and then the sound of yells and stampeding feet racing down the hallway and the boys appeared at the top of the stairs.

"MOM!" Phillip was the first one down, taking the stairs three at a time. Amanda suddenly realized her tactical error and took a step backwards just as Phillip was brought to a dead stop by both Lee and Joe springing forward with outstretched hands and shouts of "Careful!"

"Come here, Sweetheart – you just need to be gentle with me for a while." Amanda reached out and grabbed Phillip in as tight a hug as she could manage. She looked up to see Jamie coming down the stairs more slowly. "Come here, you," she said holding out her hand to him. With that, he broke and ran into her embrace as well. "Oh I have missed this!" she said. "Let's go sit down and you can tell me everything that's happened while I've been gone."

She turned to walk slowly down the steps into the family room and lowered herself onto the sofa, patting the cushions on either side of her. "C'mere, Fellas," she said and sighed with happiness as Phillip and Jamie arranged themselves gently under her arms, cuddling in as close as they could get without hurting her, while she alternated kissing each of their heads. Back in the hallway, Lee and Joe exchanged rueful grins, knowing they'd been completely forgotten.

"Now she's home," murmured Lee to Joe, who nodded in agreement.

"Ahhhhhh," sighed Amanda happily, unaware she was echoing him, "Now I'm home."


End file.
